IL Officer Cleared of 'Honeybee' Murder Charges

Attorneys say prosecutors are expected to drop charges against Lynwood Police Officer Brian Dorian in the two-state shooting spree that left one man dead and two injured. [Personal Photo]

Chicago Tribune via Yellowbrix

October 13, 2010

Though the same gunman was suspected of carrying out both shootings, Dorian wasn’t charged with wounding the other two men — both of whom remain hospitalized.

The charge against Dorian unraveled after intensive tests of his computer indicated it was being used about the time of the 10:30 a.m. killing on Oct. 5, Glasgow said.

Questioned by authorities after his Tuesday court appearance, Dorian was able to tell them what sites he had visited on his computer around the time of the killing. “He verified the websites he was on,” Kaupas said.

Meanwhile, Dorian’s childhood friend Tom Moran said he spoke with Dorian by phone shortly before Dorian was supposedly in Lowell, Ind., on Oct. 5. And Dorian then came by Moran’s home in St. John, Ind., to drink coffee shortly after.

“We talked for a little bit and then he took off,” Moran said, adding that they talked about the Boston Red Sox and Dorian’s planned trip to Iowa.

The information about Dorian’s online presence prompted authorities to agree to drop the murder charge, though Glasgow said investigators were always open to the possibility that Dorian was not the gunman.

He added that Dorian should “thank God for computer technology.”

“Without that, our timeline still fits in this case,” Glasgow said.

After last week’s shootings, officers in the area stopped every pickup truck that matched the description of the shooter’s. Dorian’s truck wasn’t an exact match. Police had said the gunman drove a white or light gray pickup — possibly a 1995 to 1998 Chevy Cheyenne. But Dorian owns a light blue 1992 Chevy pickup.

Witnesses also said the killer had talked about honey bees with his alleged victims before shooting them. But investigators admitted they found no signs at his home that Dorian was interested in raising bees.

And Dorian had earlier proclaimed his innocence in a Facebook posting four hours after the spree ended: “I got pulled over in Schererville and ordered out at gunpoint because I matched this lunatic’s description. I definately (sic) don’t like being on the other side of gun barrels being pointed at me!’’

Dorian’s father, John, who last week said “my son would never do this,” was furious at the state’s attorney Tuesday.

“They ought to prosecute [Glasgow] and put him behind bars,” John Dorian said. “How can you arrest somebody for nothing? . . .For a policeman to be innocent and put behind bars and have a person — Glasgow — say on TV . . .he is the shooter — that’s defamation of character, number one. Number two, that’s false arrest. You pick up someone on the street for driving a pickup truck?”

The decision to drop the murder charge recalls the move Glasgow made in 2005 to drop a murder charge against Kevin Fox of Wilmington, who was jailed and awaiting trial on charges he killed his 3-year-old daughter, Riley.

Lynwood Mayor Gene Williams said he thought authorities were “jumping to conclusions” about Dorian. “I know Brian too. This was a hard thing to believe. I knew this did not make sense,” he said.

Lynwood village trustee Tim Dunlap, who knows Dorian, said, “It doesn’t fit. It never did fit.

“I’m very sorry Brian had to go through this. I’m sorry for the families involved,” Dunlap said at Benny’s Place, a tavern where Dorian supporters had gathered on in recent nights.

Dunlap and Williams both worried that the gunman is still on the loose.

“I hope they find this madman, but not at the expense of someone who didn’t do it,” Williams said.